Comparison of Three 18F-Labeled Butyrophenone Neuroleptic Drugs in the Baboon Using Positron Emission Tomography

The butyrophenone neuroleptics spiroperidol, benperidol, and haloperidol were radiolabeled with fluorine-18 and studied in baboon brain using positron emission transaxial tomography (PETT). Pretreatment of the baboon with a high pharmacological dose of (+)-butaclamol reduced the specifically bound component of radioactivity distribution in the striatum to approximately the radioactivity distribution found in the cerebellum. Comparative studies of brain distribution kinetics over a 4-h period indicated that either [18F]spiroperidol or [18F]benperidol may be suitable for specific labeling of neuroleptic receptors. In an 8-h study with [18F]spiroperidol, striatal radioactivity did not decline, suggesting that spiroperidol either has a very slow dissociation rate or that it binds irreversibly to these receptors in vivo. [18F]Haloperidol may not be suitable for in vivo PETT studies, because of a relatively high component of nonspecific distribution and a faster dissociation from the receptor. Analysis of 18F in plasma after injection of [18F]spiroperidol indicated rapid metabolism to polar and acidic metabolites, with only 40% of the total radioactivity being present as unchanged drug after 30 min. Analysis of the metabolic stability of the radioactively labeled compound in rat striatum indicated that greater than 95% of [18F]spiroperidol remains unchanged after 4 h.     

Interaction of p72syk with the gamma and beta subunits of the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E, Fc epsilon RI.

Activation of protein tyrosine kinases is one of the initial events following aggregation of the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E (Fc epsilon RI) on RBL-2H3 cells, a model mast cell line. The protein tyrosine kinase p72syk (Syk), which contains two Src homology 2 (SH2) domains, is activated and associates with phosphorylated Fc epsilon RI subunits after receptor aggregation. In this report, we used Syk SH2 domains, expressed in tandem or individually, as fusion proteins to identify Syk-binding proteins in RBL-2H3 lysates. We show that the tandem Syk SH2 domains selectively associate with tyrosine-phosphorylated forms of the gamma and beta subunits of Fc epsilon RI. The isolated carboxy-proximal SH2 domain exhibited a significantly higher affinity for the Fc epsilon RI subunits than did the amino-proximal domain. When in tandem, the Syk SH2 domains showed enhanced binding to phosphorylated gamma and beta subunits. The conserved tyrosine-based activation motifs contained in the cytoplasmic domains of the gamma and beta subunits, characterized by two YXXL/I sequences in tandem, represent potential high-affinity binding sites for the dual SH2 domains of Syk. Peptide competition studies indicated that Syk exhibits a higher affinity for the phosphorylated tyrosine activation motif of the gamma subunit than for that of the beta subunit. In addition, we show that Syk is the major protein in RBL-2H3 cells that is affinity isolated with phosphorylated peptides corresponding to the phosphorylated gamma subunit motif. These data suggest that Syk associates with the gamma subunit of the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E through an interaction between the tandem SH2 domains of SH2 domains of Syk and the phosphorylated tyrosine activation motif of the gamma subunit and that Syk may be the major signaling protein that binds to Fc epsilon RI tyrosine activation motif of the gamma subunit and that Syk may be the major signaling protein that binds to Dc epsilon tyrosine activation motifs in RBL-2H3 cells.     

Macromolecular transport in heart valves. I. Studies of rat valves with horseradish peroxidase

The present study aims to experimentally elucidate subtle structural features of the rat valve leaflet and the related nature of macromolecular transport across its endothelium and in its subendothelial space, information necessary to construct a rational theoretical model that can explain observation. After intravenous injection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), we perfusion-fixed the aortic valve of normal Sprague-Dawley rats and found under light microscopy that HRP leaked through the leaflet's endothelium at very few localized brown spots, rather than uniformly. These spots grew nearly as rapidly with HRP circulation time before euthanasia as aortic spots, particularly when the time axis only included the time the valve was closed. These results suggest that macromolecular transport in heart valves depends not only on the direction normal to, but also parallel to, the endothelial surface and that convection, as well as molecular diffusion, plays an important role in macromolecular transport in heart valves. Transmission electron microscopy of traverse leaflet sections after 4-min HRP circulation showed a very thin ( approximately 150 nm), sparse layer immediately beneath the endothelium where the HRP concentration was much higher than that in the matrix below it. Nievelstein-Post et al.'s (Nievelstein-Post P, Mottino G, Fogelman A, Frank J. Arterioscler Thromb 14: 1151-1161, 1994) ultrarapid freezing/rotary shadow etching of the normal rabbit valve's subendothelial space supports the existence of this very thin, very sparse "valvular subendothelial intima," in analogy to the vascular subendothelial intima.     

Identification of a positive Cis-element upstream of human NKX3.1 gene

NKX3.1 is a prostate-specific homeobox gene related to prostate development and prostate cancer. In this work, we aimed to identify precisely the functional cis-element in the 197 bp region （from -1032 to -836 bp） of the NKX3.1 promoter （from -1032 to ＋8 bp）, which was previously identified to present positive regulatory activity on NKX3.1 expression, by deletion mutagenesis analysis and electrophoretic mobility shift assay （EMSA）. A 16 bp positive cis-element located between -920 and -905 bp upstream of the NKX3.1 gene was identified by deletion mutation analysis and proved to be a functional positive cis-element by EMSA. It will be important to further study the functions and regulatory mechanisms of this positive cis-element in NKX3.1 gene expression.     

筛选利用小麦微卫星标记追踪簇毛麦各条染色体

选用定位于普通小麦7个部分同源群上的276对微卫星引物对普通小麦中同春和簇毛麦的基因组DNA进行扩增分析,有148对引物可在两个物种间检测到多态性。利用上述显示多态性的引物进一步对7个中国春-簇毛麦二体附加系进行扩增分析,筛选出分别可用来追踪簇毛麦1V至7V染色体的引物wmc49（1BS）、wmc25（2BS）、gdm36（3DS）、gdml45（4AL）、wmc233（5DS）、wmc256（6AL）和gwm344（7BL）。此外还发现6DS上的微卫星引物gwm469可以用来追踪簇毛麦的2V染色体;2DS上的微卫星引物gdm107可用来追踪簇毛麦的6V染色体。进一步用涉及不同簇毛麦和小麦背景的小麦一簇毛麦染色体附加系、代换系和易位系进行扩增分析,这些微卫星标记也可用来鉴定簇毛麦的各条染色体。因此,这然簇毛麦染色体特异的微卫星标记可用来追踪普通小麦背景中的簇毛麦染色体。